This week we’re shipping the first of a large set of planned
features designed to improve Dota’s support for high end competitive
play. Dota’s always held a powerful place in the competitive scene, so
we’ve always wanted it to do more to help. From the data we gather
throughout the system, it’s clear that many players, of all skill
levels, find it entertaining to watch highly skilled players. So, in the
same way that we’ve used the
Steam
Workshop to connect people that are creating a lot of value for
customers who are enjoying it, we think we need to connect tournament
organizers and professional players to their fans. Our next update
includes the first step towards this.
This first piece is the Tournament view in the game client. Here, you
can find current and past tournaments, and choose which ones you think
are worth paying to watch. For the tournaments you’ve purchased, you’ll
find a complete breakdown of the tournament’s matches, and be able to
quickly jump in and watch them in your game client (whether it’s a live
match, or a replay). Whenever you purchase a tournament, we’ll share the
money you spend with the organizers of the tournament. We’ll be testing
this immediately with
The Defense, and if it works out well for everyone,
we anticipate rolling it out to all tournaments. This won’t be the end
of our features for tournaments, or players, but we think it’s the right
first step – helping tournaments become more financially stable helps
all the players participating in them.
Our goal here isn’t to replace web-based streams – we think those are
fantastic, and we’ll continue to do the best we can to support them.
Some customers will always prefer to use their web browser to watch
matches. But we think there are some customers who’d like to invest in a
higher fidelity, richer experience that they have more control over,
and we hope to be able to provide that with the in-game Tournament view.
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